


And The Future Was Golden

by mariuspondmercy



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Meet-Cute, a sort of musical actresses au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:59:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9650693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspondmercy/pseuds/mariuspondmercy
Summary: Éponine had always admired Cosette, but being able to star with her in Wicked came with perks she'd never anticipated.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [its_better_than_an_opera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_better_than_an_opera/gifts).



> All my love and a very happy birthday to my darling Laura ♥

When Éponine had gotten the call, she’d just stared at her phone for ages afterwards. She’d become a musical actress only two years ago – it hadn’t been easy to afford the education. The first year after graduation, she’d been in two smaller plays. One was in a new and unknown musical adaptation of Büchner’s _Danton’s Death_ , the role of Danton’s wife. The other was Serena in a small staging of _Fame_. After that, Éponine had been in the ensemble of _Amélie_.

But this? This was big. This could change and shape her future. Having been cast in the European tour of _Wicked_ was pretty amazing. It was an international cast, actors from Albania over Greece to Turkey had applied. Éponine had sent in her audition tape on a mere whim, encouraged by her little brother. Maybe, if she was really lucky, she’d get a role in the ensemble. But as the fates would have it, she’d been cast as Elphaba.  And while that meant touring through Europe for two, possible five years, it also meant leaving her brother behind in the Ukraine. He’d grow up by himself then but he was already 17, so Éponine wasn’t overly worried. Besides, Gavroche had been extremely excited about her success. He even suggested he’d come with her as her assistant. It made Éponine laugh, because really, who was she to need an assistant? He also had an education to start and finish. So they decided that Gavroche was to graduate and then maybe he could join her for a year before he began his studies. Nonetheless, it was hard parting from him.

When Éponine had been in London during the call-back, she performed with three different possible Glindas, and so far no information had been leaked as to who was cast. So by the time Éponine came back to London to start rehearsals, she had absolutely no idea. It could be either of the three women, and they had all been in the business much, much longer than Éponine herself – but that also wasn’t hard.

She settled in over the weekend, decorated her room a little, skyped her brother in Odessa. She was pretty excited the day of their first read-through. Finally, Éponine would get to know her co-workers for the next two years – at least that’s the duration of the first contract, possible extension until the end of the tour. Walking through the doors of the theatre, Éponine could feel her heart beating in her chest. She was a few minutes early – okay, half an hour – because she would’ve felt too awkward coming in last minute, drawing attention to herself that way. Éponine lingered in front of the room, pacing up and down, doubting herself. How weird would it look if people – possibly famous and renowned musical actors – walked into a room with her just sitting there? It would make her look so pathetic. But she didn’t have long to dwell on what to do next, because someone else soon rounded the corner.

“Hey, you here for the read-through?” The man asked her with a smile.

“Yeah, I am. Éponine, hi.” She quickly shook his hand.

“Éponine, hello. I’m Bahorel. I’ll be playing Boq. You?”

“Forgive me for being indiscreet but I think I’ve seen you in YouTube videos before. You’re from Denmark, right? You were Prince Eric!”

Bahorel laughed a loud belly laugh and nodded. “Yes! It was my first role, when I was really young. And now it’s Wicked, quite a dream come true, I gotta confess.”

“Oh yes, the same for me. I have a few musicals on my list, a few dream roles.”

“You’re new, aren’t you? There’s always a few people you don’t know after years but not many. I’d remember you.”

“I only graduated two years ago. I’m really new, haven’t done much yet. And… I’m not sure how well-known Ukrainian actresses are.”

“We Northerners are a tight-knit community, as are all the people from the United Kingdom and Ireland. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Ukrainian musical but you must be incredibly since you’ve been cast.”

Éponine was just about to say something when someone tackled Bahorel from behind and started rapidly talking in some Scandinavian language she didn’t understand. After what seemed to be a greeting between long-lost friends, they turned towards Éponine and introduced themselves as Jehan – of course Éponine knew who they were, having played the role of Fiyero in the Swedish _Wicked_ before, but now cast as Nessarose. One after another, the rest of the cast filed into the hallway and then into the room. Éponine was still a little star-struck, she had to admit. It was already bad when the Irish actor Fra Courfeyrac walked in but seeing Cosette Fauchelevent right behind him? Éponine thought her heart stopped beating for a second there. Of course she’d met her during call-back, had sung with her and the other two. Cosette had been very friendly, as had all the others. But Cosette… Cosette had been in musicals from a very early age on; something akin to a child star, even. Éponine had always admired her; her voice, her strength, the ideals she presented in her interviews. Working with her was truly a dream come true.

It wasn’t long until their producer joined them. He’d met them all before, of course, during the call-backs. The actors all introduced themselves, shared where they’re from, which role they’d be playing, what they’d done so far. During all of that, Éponine noticed that she clearly was the person with the least experience – maybe this was all just some elaborated prank. Maybe she hadn’t been cast as Elphaba but as an understudy. Maybe her English had failed her, caused the misunderstanding. But she had read the parts of Elphaba and there was no one else there claiming to be Elphaba.

Her mind was a bit of a mess, which was why she was quite startled when Cosette approached her during their break.

“Hey you! I’m so glad to meet you again,” she beamed at Éponine. “I talked to Courfeyrac before, I knew he’d auditioned, too. We both agreed that we’d love to work with you. And I thought we two had a lot of chemistry, don’t you think? We’re going out for drinks after work today, you wanna join us? Oh! I forgot! I got juice boxes for everyone. Would you prefer grape or orange?”

“I… uhm… thank you? Grape would be nice, yes. You talk very fast…”

“Oh, I’m really sorry… I’m just very excited. You’re new and I like to get to know new people. You seem nice.” Cosette handed her a boy of grape juice. “So, drinks tonight with us? Get to know the gang?”

“The gang?” Éponine raised an eyebrow and grinned at Cosette.

God, how could she be so sweet and kind? Of course, Éponine had seen plenty of interviews with her and most of the other actors she was now working with (what? She was really and truly working with some of the most top-notch musical actors from all over Europe!) but meeting someone in person was always something else. She had met Courfeyrac during the audition, too. He seemed to be a little too excited at times, but kind. Éponine supposed that she didn’t have the worst people to act with.

“We obviously need a better name but this works for now. Drinks?”

“Yeah, I’d really love to.”

“I also thought that we should maybe meet after work to go through some of our scenes together? But I totally understand if you’d rather have quiet evenings to yourself. Some people need the alone-time to come down. I do, too, to be honest.”

“Then why are you asking me to meet you if you’d prefer to have quiet evenings?” Éponine asked, an amused tone tinging her voice.

Cosette laughed brightly. “I just believe that we should get together to talk about our characters, how we see their relationship, how we interpret Elphaba and Glinda. I make a habit out of getting to know my co-workers. Plus, it’s pretty likely that we’ll have to share a room when we’re travelling. So… what do you say?”

“I’d like that a lot, yes,” Éponine smiled. “You really think we’re gonna share a room?”

The thought alone made Éponine’s heart beat a little faster. Sharing the same room as Cosette Fauchelevent? That meant potential late-night talks, seeing her in the morning, maybe even still sleepy and oh-so soft. Her brother would laugh at her, given how much she’d already gushed about Cosette before she’d even started her career as a musical actress. Still, Éponine couldn’t wait to call Gavroche as soon as possible. She knew he’d be excited for her.

“Yeah, I suppose so! But I’m honestly not sure. It’s different during every tour. Sometimes you even get single rooms. But Valjean said we’d be getting double rooms and I see no reason for us to not share a room. You seem nice and we got along during the audition.”

Éponine smiled softly. “I think we’ll have a great two years together.”

Over the course of the next six months, during and after their rehearsals, Éponine grew much closer to Cosette – just like Cosette had predicted. She also learned a lot about her new friend. Of course, Éponine already knew a fair amount from interviews she’d read and viewed. She knew that her mother, Fantine, was a seamstress in London. Because of that, Cosette had basically grown up in the back of a theatre. Éponine knew Cosette’s first role had been Matilda, that the first musical she’d seen was _Starlight Express_ (apart from the musicals she’d been in). She knew all those things but she’d learned so much more. She’d learned that Cosette preferred crunchy peanut butter to creamy one, that she liked potatoes more than pasta but rice was her overall favourite. Banana split over cookie dough ice cream every day. Éponine had learned that Cosette had no idea how to braid but loved to play with hair.  She had also learned that Cosette always slept wearing socks – even now, when it was nearing summer. Though Éponine had also come to realise: English summer was not in the slightest comparable to Ukrainian summer. English summer was… wet. And cold. Yet the English still seemed to believe that it was perfectly acceptable to wear basically nothing in temperatures below 20 degrees.

Cosette was no exception. Barely 18 degrees and she was sporting a crop top and jeans shorts – seriously! Éponine felt cold just looking at her. Actually, she felt a lot of things just looking at Cosette. But right now, she was too distracted by her seeming indifference towards temperatures – and the two frozen yoghurts Cosette carried as she exited the shop.

“There you go,” Cosette beamed at her, settling down next to Éponine on a bench. “Our last froyo before the hardship of theatre begins.”

Éponine laughed softly. “The hardship, is that so? Thank you.” She took the cup from Cosette, her heart beating a little faster when their fingers touched.

This had got to stop! It wasn’t even a problem during rehearsals, probably wouldn’t be a problem during performances. It was all professional then, every touch had been discussed before. But when they were out of the theatre? Cosette was a very physical person, with all her friends. Hugs were a daily occurrence. Sometimes, Cosette would tuck back a strand of hair that had come loose from Éponine’s bun. Sometimes she would clasp Éponine’s hand when she was excited or touch her arm while she was talking to her. It sent shivers through Éponine every time.

Cosette nudged her softly. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours, hm?”

“Well, it’s the premiere tomorrow and we’re sitting here, eating froyo instead of rehearsing…”

“Rehearsal is just around the corner and starts in an hour. So what’s the real reason?”

Éponine sighed and leaned against Cosette, carefully scooping a bit of froyo out of Cosette’s cup and into her own mouth.

“I wish Gavroche could be there, tomorrow. I really miss him. And I knew he’d be proud, he’d be so happy for me. He’s dying to get to know you.”

“I have a proposal.” Cosette squeezed Éponine’s knee softly, getting a bit distracted by frayed bits of jeans surrounding the hole in Éponine’s pants.

“You having fun there?” Éponine cocked an eyebrow, already used to such things from her friend; God have mercy on her.

“Sorry,” she laughed and drew back her hand. “The proposal! Let’s skype Gavroche together. I want to meet him, too. We could call him after the show, before we go out to celebrate. It can only be a quick call but we could do it together. Or during intermission?”

“During intermission would be nice. I’d like that. I’ll text him right away.”

She quickly shot a text to her brother, who promptly responded that he’d love to skype – and to finally meet Cosette. The last statement was accompanied by a couple of winking emojis, causing Éponine to groan softly. Her brother was a menace but she loved him dearly.

Opening night a day later was an incredible success. Éponine was drunk on the applause, the praise, the hugs from her new friends. She got spun around by Bahorel, kissed by Jehan, embraced by Valjean. Even Cosette’s mother had come to see them and later on sought out Éponine to congratulate her. She could hardly believe that this was her life now. Night after night – and some afternoons – on the stage, singing her heart out, be with her new-found family. It was truly a dream come true and it only got better when they started touring. Not only did she get to see Europe, she also shared a room with Cosette. Of course, there wasn’t all that much time for being tourists, but Valjean had made sure they always had a weekend off per city to explore and relax. Then again, they also stayed about two months in each city, so it was more a weekend per month.

They were in Tallinn when it really hit Éponine for the first time. She hadn’t seen Gavroche in over a year. Of course she skyped him regularly, but she’d lived with Gavroche for three years in her own flat. He’d been with her every step of the way. Until now. There was no particular reason why it suddenly dragged her down. She had enjoyed a great day in Tallinn; a matinee performance followed by some sightseeing and dinner with the crew. They had intended to go out but Éponine really didn’t feel up to it. Not even stage designer Grantaire – her new best friend, apart from Cosette – had managed to cheer her up. Gavroche was out with friends, so she couldn’t even skype him. It was the first time since she’d started her new life that Éponine wondered if it was truly worth it. Was it really worth missing to see her brother growing up? Of course Gavroche was perfectly fine without her but still. She’d already mostly lost contact to her sister Azelma, but that was in their teenage years. She had gotten over it years ago. They had occasional contact, more like distant cousins than sisters. But losing Gavroche? That would take too high a toll on her.

“Hey you.”

Éponine hadn’t even noticed Cosette slipping into the room, so she startled lightly when her friend spoke to her.

“I decided to stay in today,” Cosette smiled softly and dropped her jacket onto the armchair. “I’m knackered. Got us some ice cream.” She turned around to Éponine and quickly slipped out of her skirt.

By now, they really had no shame in front of each other; they’d changed between scenes after all, it had to go quickly, there was a lot of skin. Éponine had seen more of her co-workers than deemed appropriate. Yet, in the confines of their hotel room it was quite something else – same with the innocent touches.

Cosette unceremoniously dumped her bra – pulled through her sleeve – onto her bed, pulled on her sweatpants and dramatically threw herself onto Éponine’s bed. Of course Éponine knew that Cosette only did this for her, and she was thankful.

“Grantaire said Cookie Dough is always a solid choice. I quite agree with him. Your own spoon or would you rather steal some from mine?”

“Some from you,” Éponine mumbled, rolling onto her side to face Cosette.

“Alright. Just say when you want some. Talk or no talk?”

“No talk.”

“Gotcha.” Cosette settled in properly, softly running her fingers through Éponine’s hair.

Éponine should cry, she knew as much. Letting it all out always helped. But right now she only felt numb. Over half an hour later, Éponine finally broke down crying. She didn’t know why, she didn’t know how to handle it. She’d never had such a strange reason for crying. Loneliness, homesickness – it was plain strange to her.

“Physical comfort?” Cosette whispered.

Éponine nodded, hiccupping softly. Carefully, Cosette drew her into her arms and kissed the top of her head. She ran her fingers over Éponine’s arm, along her cheek, through her hair. After a while, Éponine’s sobs subsided. She curled up, snuggling a little closer to Cosette.

“Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help.”

“No, I just—I miss Gavroche so much. It just hit me. I just… I can’t explain.”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to explain. You don’t even have to understand. It’s your first time touring, your first time away from home. First time away from your brother. You’re allowed to have a break-down. We all had them on our first tour. And sometimes we still have them. No shame in it.”

“You’re not having one,” Éponine mumbled.

“No, because I’ve been on many, many tours. I started touring when I was seven years old, as Matilda. Back then my mum was with me, and Valjean. He practically adopted me and my mother. Which doesn’t mean that I got the role of Glinda because of it. He’d never do that. It just means that I always have some family with me during this tour. And… and I have you,” Cosette added quietly. “You make me feel safe and you make me laugh. Some days I don’t feel well. I feel like the weight of the world is crushing me. I feel like I’m a fraud, like I don’t deserve being up on that stage. But coming back into hotel rooms with you, chatting before falling asleep, sharing nonsense-thoughts, convincing you that the Norwegian fog outside our window is actually dragon aether… it makes me feel so much more alive. I hope I can give a little bit of that energy to you.”

“You are. You do. I feel so good around you.”

“I know you always want to be a tough one, because you always had to be. Raising your brother, the fall-out with your sister, your shitty parents. Fall apart now. I’m here. I’m making sure you’re not falling too deep; I’m making sure all your pieces will still be together afterwards.”

Éponine nodded softly. “I really want to see Gavroche.”

“Five more months. That’s a long time. Should we call him now?”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “He’s out with friends.”

“Okay.” Cosette softly kissed the top of her head and squeezed her a little closer. She fell silent again, holding her friend close, which Éponine was very thankful for.

It took a while, but she finally fell asleep, exhausted and drained. When Éponine woke up, it was to a video message by her brother. Apparently Cosette had texted him – why and how Cosette got his number was a mystery to Éponine – and Gavroche had taken action. God, how much she loved her little brother. He had assured her that they’d skype every week from now on until they saw each other again. Éponine was excited and in a much better mood than the evening before. With Cosette still asleep next to her, she carefully slipped out of bed and into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and after a short, quiet phone call, Éponine slipped back under the covers. She carefully ran her knuckles over Cosette’s cheek, drawing a sleepy smile out of the other woman.

“Hey you,” Éponine called softly, tucking some of Cosette’s hair behind her ear. Gingerly, she traced Cosette’s nose with her fingertips, eliciting a light chuckle from her.

“’M awake,” Cosette mumbled. “’S early.”

“It’s nearly 11am. I ordered breakfast and we’re meeting Bahorel at 2pm at a typical Estonian café.”

“Sounds good to me. A free day, just imagine!” Cosette sighed and stretched languidly. She turned more towards Éponine and took her hand into hers, kissing the knuckles softly. “Are you feeling better?”

“I am. You talked to Gavroche?”

“On Facebook, yes.” Cosette clasped her hand tightly. She scooted a little closer and pressed a cautious kiss to Éponine’s forehead.

Éponine leaned into the touch, a light smile playing on her lips. This woman was going to be the death of her. To Éponine’s great shock, Cosette very, very carefully pressed a small kiss onto the bridge of her nose.

“Okay?” She whispered against Éponine’s skin. “Wrong timing? Too much?”

Éponine gently nudged Cosette. “Shut up.”

With a light chuckle, Cosette continued her journey down Éponine’s nose, lips gliding over her cheekbones. She pressed a delicate kiss to the corner of Éponine’s mouth.

“Still okay?”

“Very okay.”

“Okay,” Cosette whispered, her lips nearly brushing Éponine’s.

Her heart beat fast in her chest and time seemed to momentarily slow down. Every millimetre they were still apart was a cruel and unjust circumstance. Éponine wanted nothing more than to pull Cosette towards her and kiss her senseless. But this was Cosette’s call and she was prepared to give her all the time she needed.

Except.

Except right in the moment when Cosette closed her eyes, someone knocked on the door, announcing the room service loudly. Cosette huffed out a breathless laugh and drew back, giving Éponine the space to leave the bed and get their breakfast. She tipped the guy generously and hoovered in the door a bit, unsure about what to do. At least the tray gave her something to hold onto. What if the moment was completely destroyed now? What if it had just been a spur-of-the-moment thing for Cosette? What if everything would just turn awkward now? What if, what if, what if. She didn’t even notice she’d spaced out, not until Cosette carefully took the tray from her.

“Hey. Are you with me?”

“I… yes. Sorry.” Éponine softly shook her head and laughed anxiously.

“Alright. I’m going to set the tray aside and if I may, I would like to kiss you then.”

“You would?”

“Of course I would.” Cosette carefully placed the tray on the bedside table before turning around to Éponine again, taking her hands and squeezing them softly. “I got the feeling that you’d like it, too. I doubt my feelings are betraying me here. But I also got the feeling that you’re a little overwhelmed right now and that maybe the first magic moment has passed. There are only so many magic moments in life and they’re amazing and wonderful, though quite a rarity. We don’t have to have a magic moment, it’s not a requirement but we can wait for another moment, if you’d prefer that.”

“I think I’d like to wait, if that’s alright by you. I really am a little overwhelmed right now.”

“Of course. Let’s have breakfast and record a video for Gavroche afterwards, to thank him for his video.”

Éponine smiled thankfully and nodded. “I’d like that.”

She wasn’t entirely sure if she’d made the right decision but she trusted Cosette and she trusted both their feelings. There would be another moment soon, she was certain of it.

After Tallinn came Riga, Vilnius, Moscow, Minsk until, finally, their time in Kiev was approaching. She’d asked Valjean for three days off so she could travel to Odessa and see her brother. Of course he’d granted her the wish. After their first evening show in Kiev, Éponine was to head off to Odessa – apparently Valjean had arranged for transportation. He truly was an angel sent from heaven.

During Intermission of that day, Éponine was basically a ball of excitement. It was still a little unbelievable to her that she’d be able to see her brother soon after nearly two years of no face-to-face contact. When she went off stage that evening after yet another standing ovation, Éponine couldn’t wait to get the green make up off her face. She only stopped at the knock on her door.

“Come on in,” she said loudly, quickly getting back to her cotton balls.

Cosette slipped into the room, already changed out of her costume. She beamed at Éponine as she stepped behind her and rested her chin on Éponine’s head.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said as she grabbed a cotton ball and helped Éponine get rid of the green.

“Is that so?” She smiled at Cosette in the mirror, the other woman’s smile once again stirring up the all too well known feeling inside her gut.

“That is so,” Cosette confirmed. She pressed a quick kiss to the top of Éponine’s head and stepped around her to lean against the dressing table. “And now that you’re de-green-ed, could I ask you to stand up, close your eyes and trust me?”

“That’s not a very hard task,” Éponine laughed.

She got up from her chair and stepped aside a little, right in front of Cosette. For a moment, she simply looked at her, drinking in her features. Her wide nose, the soft freckles only just dusting the bridge of it, her plump lips. In some moments, Éponine wanted to do nothing more than kiss her. Actually, in most moments she wanted to do nothing more than kiss Cosette. She carefully took Cosette’s hand in hers and placed a soft kiss on its back before closing her eyes. Éponine felt herself being turned around, Cosette’s fingers softly running over her arms. It sent shivers through her body.

“We’ve actually got a new crew member. Valjean wanted you to meet him before you head off. Open your eyes,” Cosette whispered, pressing a feathery-light kiss behind Éponine’s ear before she let go off her.

 She did as asked and blinked once, twice, three times to focus on the figure standing in the doorway.

“Gavroche?”

Her brother beamed at her and wasted no time in striding over to hug her. By now, Gavroche had grown to be taller than his sister, resulting in an all-encompassing hug which Éponine reciprocated only too gladly. After they parted, she stared at him in bewilderment.

“What… I…”

“Cosette and Valjean offered me a sort of apprenticeship in stage design. From today on, I’m touring with you.”

“Wait, seriously?” She spun around to Cosette. “You… really?”

“You missed him,” she smiled, “and he had no real plan for after graduation. Two birds with one stone.”

“I could kiss you right now. I… may I?”

Cosette grinned brightly and nodded. “Please.” She even rose to her tip-toes to meet Éponine halfway.

Éponine carefully cupped Cosette’s face in her hands and watched her close her eyes, lips trembling with anticipation. Gingerly, she brushed her lips against Cosette’s before whispering: “I wanted to do this for so long.” Seeing the smile grow wider, Éponine finally kissed her. All the wait, all the excitement, all the anguish, soft touches, careful kisses to cheeks, necks, eyelids, foreheads, hands – it had all been worth it for just this one moment.

And if she could never have more than this one kiss, she could die a satisfied woman. But Cosette’s arms looped around her waist, pulling her closer, assuring her: there would be more, and the future was golden.


End file.
